Ribbon-inking device.



' DLH. DQNEGAN.

RIBBON INKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I8. 1911.

RENEWED AUG-22.1918- Patented Oct. 15, 1918..

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

11v VENTOR.

Dfi/V/EL 15 DOA/65m TTORNY n; H. DONEGAN.

RIBBON INKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1s. 19!!- RENEWED AUG. 22. 1918.

1,281,53. Patented 001;.15, 1918* 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' 11v VENTOR. WITNESSES paw/4 /9.Dw6W/V.

tinirn DANIEL H. DONEGAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RIBBON-HIKING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1918.

Application ,flled June 18, 1917, Serial No. 175,316. Renewed August 22, 1918. Serial No. 251,011.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIELH. DoNEeAN, 31% Vest Grand avenue, city of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ribbon-Inking Devices, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a device for inking ribbons of typewriting machines or tape shaped ink carriers of other printing mechanisms, and it is an object of the invention to supply these carriers with inking or renewing fluid, either while they are in use, or between periods of utilization.

Another obj ect of the invention is to combine with a typewriter or other printing mechanism a readily detachable device which may be operatively associated with the ink ribbon for uniformly transferring a fluid from a receptacle to the ribbonitself.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in combination with parts of the printing mechanism whereby the ribbon may be supplied with fluid on both surfaces simultaneously, or whereby either one of the two surfaces only may be restored to usefulness by applying a fluid thereto.

Another object of the invention is to interpose the inking device between the ribbon guide, which is located near the printing point, and the ribbon spool, in such manner.

that a re-inking of the ribbon may be effected during the step by step feeding movement by which the ribbon is unwound from its spool or wound upon the spool; by means of this device the ribbon may also be reinked while being transferred from one spool to the other without necessitating operation of the keys of the typewriter and the mechanisms associated therewith.

Another object of the invention is to combine with a re-inking device a carrier which may readily be attached to or removed from a typewriting machine or other printing mechanism, and the location of which with respect to the spool will be fixed, owing to the provision of means for supporting the carrier of the re-inking device detachably on the spool.

Another object of the invention is to combine with the re-inking device a plurality of fluid transferring members operating on both surfaces of the ribbon at points which are not directly opposite to each other.

With these and other objects in view, an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in-the accompanying drawings and is described in the following specification.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a top plan view of the device in combination with parts of a typewriter;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device in combination with the same parts;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the carrier of the re-inking device, with the fluid transferring elements and retaining member;

Fig. 4: is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 5 shows, in vertical section and on a larger scale, one of the fluid transferring members;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the same member, also on a larger scale;

Fig. 7 is a. top plan view of a retaining element for a pair of fluid transferring members, and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same retaining element.

It has been known to combine inking devices for ribbons with typewriter machines, as the advisability of providing means for extending the usefulness of a typewriter ribbon has always been recognized. In the present device particular attention is paid to the facility with which the entire device may be attached to, or detached from, the parts of the typewriting machine or other printing mechanism, and forthis purpose the device is combined with the spool of the ink ribbon so as to be in close proximity thereto.

In Figs. 1 and 2 several of the elements of a typewriting machine are illustrated. The upright post 1 of the typewriter frame is shown to be provided with a horizontal projection 2 for supporting other details of the machine, not shown in the drawing. An

arm 3, also projecting horizontally from the.

upright 1, contains a bearing 4 for the spool spindle 5, on which, in any suitable way, the ribbon spool is mounted so as to rotate either with said spindle or independently thereof, as desired. The spool preferably is provided with upper and lower retaining flanges 6, between which the ribbon R is stored. In the embodiment illustrated the spool body is provided with a central aperture 7, into which the spindle 5 projects. A .gi1ard 8, in the form of an arcuate plate, surrounds part of the spool, and suitable tension is applied to the ribbon by means of a guide rod 9 carried in the arm 3 of the frame, the rod being located adjacent to the spool. In addition to this rod, a guide clip 10 is attached to the spool or to the guard, this clip being provided with a slot 11 for maintaining the ribbon in predetermined position with respect to the guide rod 9.

An additional ribbon guide 12, usually mounted on a ribbon vibrator, is providednear that point at which the type (not shown) strikes, the ribbon to imprint the character through the ribbon on the paper. This guide 12 is movable adjacent to a stationary clip 13, having at its upper ends (in the embodiment shown) forwardly projecting fingers 14, which form a guiding element for the type to assure the accurate alinement of the printed characters.

The re-inking device is inserted in such manner that the operative parts of the same are located between the two ribbon guides just described, whereby these devices also serve for guiding the ink ribbon through the inking device. The carrier of the fluid transferring members consists of a flat strap 15 of metal, having at one end a suitable clip 17 for attachment to a portion 2 of the frame of the printing mechanism, and having at the other end a yoke 16, in which two fluid transferring members are mounted. As the attachment of the device by means of the clip 17 might not be suflicient to maintain the fluid transferring members in proper position with respect to the spool, the carrier 15 is furthermore provided with a stem 18 adapted to be inserted into the bore 7 or other part of the ink ribbon spool. While a two-prong clip is shown in Fig. 4 as forming part of the carrier or support for the re-inking device, it is obvious that any other attaching device may be selected for the same purpose to facilitate the adaptation of the device to different makes of typewriting machines or the like.

The yoke 16, secured to the carrier and serving for the support of the fluid transferring members consists of a transverse horizontal strip and two upright legs 20, which last named parts are provided with lateral flanges 21. The lower member of the yoke has spaced openings adapted to receive the ends or hubs 22 of hollow rollers 23. These rollers may contain a suitable fluid to be transferred to the ribbon; and in order to effect this transfer, the cylindrical wall of the rollers is provided with openings 24, extending from the cavity to the circumferential wall of the roller and located at different levels of the same. From Fig. 5 it is apparent that these passages leading from the interior cavity of the rotary members 23 to the outer surface of the same are smaller near the bottom of the well than near the top. Owing to this arrangement, the fluid in the rotary members 23 will not be discharged near the bottom with more force or more voluminously than near the top, although the pressure of the fluid in the member above these openings might have a tendency to cause excessive discharge through the openings nearer the bottom. The device, therefore, may be said to effect-a uniform discharge of the fluid from the interior of the well outwardly.

Each roller 23 is surrounded by a cylindrical pad 25 of some absorbent material, like felt, cotton or similar fibrous substance, and these pads are in contact with the rib bon R on points located between the ribbon guiding clips 12 and 10. It will be seen that the upper end of each'roller 23 is slightly conical; when the device is assembled, this end projects through a retaining element 27, shown in Figs. 7 and 8, which also serves for maintaining the upper ends of the inking members in suitably spaced relation with respect to each other. This retaining element 27 consists of a transverse member provided with the openings to receive the upper ends of the rollers and having downwardly extending legs 28, which are guided by the flanges 21 on the vertical legs 20 of the yoke 17 for the re-inking device.

It will be seen that the two points on which the rollers 23 act upon the ink ribbon R are not in direct opposition to each other, but that in its passage from one ribbon guide to the other guide the ribbon may first be reinked on the one surface and. then on the other surface. It is also obvious that one or the other of these rollers may merely act as an implement for imparting tension to the ribbon, and that the well in said roller must not necessarily be filled with the fluid to be transferred to the ribbon. It is therefore possible to re-ink one surface only of the ribbon, if desired.

In order to place the device in proper position, the clip 17 is secured to a suitable frame portion of the machine; this position, however, may be diiferent with different printing mechanisms. The support 15 preferably is made of a band of metal having a certain resiliency, and the stem 18 attached to the lower surface of the strap 15 may therefore be snapped in position in the axial bore 7, usually provided in the spool for reception of a part of the spindle. The ribbonR, while loose, is then inserted between the two fluid transferring members 23. and the retaining element 27 is then slid downwardly between the flanges 21 on the legs 20 of the holding yoke 17. The ribbon R will therefore be guided from the vibrator through the re-inking device to the spool without requiring a twisting of the same, a disadvantage which is present in many other devices serving the same purpose. Even if it should not be desired to apply a restoring fluid to the ribbon, the elements 15, 16, and 27 may be left in place, as the two fluid transferring members can readily be removed from the support.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described, comprising in combination with the ribbon spool of a typewriter, fluid transferring members, a carrier for the same, and centering means extending from said carrier into said spool at a point located in the axis of said spool.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with the ribbon spool of a typewriter, of fluid transferring members, a carrier, for the same, means for securing said carrier to parts of the typewriter, said means being located at one end thereof, the

fluid transferring members being held at the other end of said support, and an element disposed between said means and said fluid transferring members for connecting said carrier to a centrally located point of the ink ribbon spool.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of an ink ribbon spool of a typewriter, fluid transferring members, a carrier for said members having a centerin stem in engagement with said spool, an means on said carrier for holding said members at a fixed distance from each other.

4. In a device for applying ink to the ribbon of a typewriter, the combination of a plurality of fiuid transferring rollers spaced from each other, and means for guiding said ribbon through the interspace between said rollers, said rollers being in engagement with the ribbon on opposite surfaces and at points of the ribbon which are not locatedopposite each other.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of an ink ribbon spool for a typewriter, a strap, a yoke supportin fluid transferring members at one end 0 said strap, a holding clip at the other end of said strap, and a stem intermediate said cli and yoke, said stem being-inserted in sai spool.

6. In a device of the character described,

the combination of a plurality of fluid transferring rollers, a yoke supporting adjacent ends of said rollers, and a retaining element for the other ends of said rollers slidably inserted in said yoke.

7 In a device of the character described, a strap provided at 'one end with a clip adapted to embrace a portion of a typewriter, a yoke at the other end of the strap, a holding pin intermediate said clip and yoke, fluid transferring members movably supported within said yoke, and a closing element for said yoke.

8. A device of-the character described, comprising a resilient strap, a clip at one end of the same adapted to embrace a fixed part of a typewriter, a yoke having two vertical members and one transverse member at the other end of the strap,-a centering stem between the clip and yoke, the transverse member of the yoke being provided with spaced openings, a plurality of fluid transferring members inserted -in said In-testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL H. DONEGAN.

Witnesses:

EVELYN GREGORY, DANIEL A. BRENNAN. 

